Shopping in Liverpool
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Prancing Horse scupture,. Church Street Liverpool. Shopping in Liverpool has not been very a very satisfactory affair for many years, and half-hearted attempts to move up-market have foundered leading Liverpudlians to be lampooned by the media as curly-haired, shell-suited, and belligerent.
Walking round Church Street unfortunately reinforces the image that persists, although the hair is shorter and the shell-suits have given way to sports-wear which is worn incongruously by the fattest and the oldest! The opening of the Met Quarter in 2006 and the imminent completion of the Grosvenor Centre will hopefully change things.
The natural centre of the shopping area is Church Street where the usual high street multiples are found - uninspiring to say the least. Interestingly what brought it to life was the market stalls in the centre of the street, that after many years of wrangling have been moved
Whilst I am not a fan of counterfeit goods, that are sold by some, the stalls added colour in all senses of the word to this otherwise uninspiring street.
The first British Woolworth store was here in 1909, sadly closed in the 1980's		 Stalls in Church Street Liverpool
My solution would have been to build attractive permanent stalls with power supply etc. and that at least would have got rid of polythene sheets and noisy generators while giving the City an opportunity to collect revenue and insist on standards being met.
Clayton Square Liverpool
St John's Market Liverpool
Several recent developments have not had the impact hoped for.
The first was St John's Market over 30 years ago, with market stalls and cheaper shops. Recent revamps have helped a little but the tone is distictly 'down-market'
Clayton Square, less than 20 years old has been much more successful, bridging a gap between St John's and the start of Church Street.
Cavern Walks was next, but situated off Lord Street it is a little off the beaten track. There are some good shops but too many empty units to inspire confidence.
The Met Quarter opened in 2006 and occupies a site that was partly the old head Post Office. The Victorian facade has been retained at the back and the front is a modern glass and steel edifice.
Inside is clean and bright with high quality shops occupying probably two thirds of the units on two floors after 6 months.
It is definitely a move in the right direction and situated as it is at the the 'wrong' end of Church Street in Whitechapel, brings the Cavern Centre more into play.
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